Survey: 20% think drunk women 'partly responsible' for rape

ONE in five Australians believe a woman is "partly responsible" for being raped if she is intoxicated, a national survey conducted by VicHealth has found.

The poll of 17,500 people also found one in six people support the notion that when women say no to sex, they mean yes.

VicHealth chief executive Jerril Rechter said the results were "shocking" and showed there was still a lot of work to do when it comes to changing people's attitudes.

"These are terrible statistics and whilst we're making headway in some areas, we are seriously concerned that many people have attitudes that lead to the potential for violence against women," she said.

The survey found most people believe violence was caused by men being unable to control their anger, while nearly half believed men committed rape because they were unable to "control their need for sex".